Google's AI helps NASA discover two new planets

NASA has discovered a new exoplanet called Kepler 90i using Google's artificial intelligence(AI) tools. The exoplanet is located in the alien solar system now known to contain eight planets all revolving around the same star, Kepler 90.

The new exoplanet, Kepler-90i, is described as being “sizzling hot” and having an orbit that lasts 14.4 days. The star itself, Kepler-90, is located 2,545 light-years from Earth. The other planets in the solar system are similarly named, including 90b, 90c, 90d, 90e, 90f, 90g, and 90h. The newly found 90i planet resides between 90c and 90d, putting it third in line from that Sun-like star.

The space agency explains that researchers Andrew Vanderburg and Christopher Shallue trained the technology to find exoplanets based on Kepler light readings. The team has written a paper about their findings that has been accepted in the Astronomical Journey.

Google's tool also found Kepler-80g, a planet that is the smallest in its own system. Kepler-80g is Earth-sized in a synchronized orbit with the other five planets around its star.

The neural network discovered other exoplanets, as well, such as a sixth planet in the Kepler-80 system; despite some false positives, the system demonstrated a very high accuracy level during testing.